Roadside bomb kills Egyptian police officer in Cairo suburb

The bomb was remotely detonated early on Sunday in Maadi, a wealthy suburb that is home to many foreign diplomats, teachers and other expatriates, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency MENA.

"A bomb buried by the side of the road exploded" as the vehicle drove by in the early hours of the morning, the statement said.

Four officers were also wounded in the attack – two officers have already been discharged from hospital while another two remain under treatment.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but militants have carried out many attacks on the police and army since the 2013 military toppling of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Egypt is fighting a long-running insurgency by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province, in which hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed.

In past months, another militant group called Hasm has claimed responsibility for attacks in Cairo and the Nile Delta, most of them targeting policemen.